‘Doctor Strange’ Updates: George Takei Slams Cast Whitewashing; Film Helps Raise Record-Breaking £649 million for London’s Media Industry

‘Doctor Strange’ continues to face allegations of whitewashing its cast of characters. George Takei of ‘Star Trek’ fame criticized the film heavily especially when it came to casting actress Tilda Swinton for the part of a Tibetan master, who mentored Stephen Strange on his journey to becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. Meanwhile, the film helped raise a record-breaking £649 million for London’s Media Industry in 2015.

According to Vulture, Takei took to his Facebook account to post a rant against the new standalone film for Marvel. He wrote, "So let me get this straight. You cast a white actress so you wouldn’t hurt sales … in Asia? This backpedaling is nearly as cringeworthy as the casting. Marvel must think we’re all idiots."

He added, "Marvel already addressed the Tibetan question by setting the action and the Ancient One in Kathmandu, Nepal, in the film. It wouldn't have mattered to the Chinese government by that point whether the character was white or Asian, as it was already in another country… They cast Tilda because they believe white audiences want to see white faces.”

In another comment, Takei went on to explain that Hollywood’s history of whitewashing cast members has been a long-standing insult to actors of different races - specifically Asians. He said that this may be a ploy to keep Asians “invisible” in the movie industry leading to underemployment as actors in Hollywood.

The 79-year old actor is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the television series ‘Star Trek’. He is an active advocate of LGBT rights as well as worked as human rights and Japanese-American relations.

Takei’s reaction came after Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige addressed the race controversy for ‘Doctor Strange’. According to The Independent, Feige insisted that casting Swinton as Ancient One was in no way a political move.

He said, “We make all of our decisions on all of our films, and certainly on Doctor Strange, for creative reasons and not political reasons… We didn’t want to play into any of the stereotypes found in the comic books, some of which go back as far as 50 years or more.” Feige went on to say that gender swapping the characters was a way of reviving an old storyline.

Meanwhile, the upcoming standalone film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) helped London earn £649 million in the domestic market along with other upcoming film and television projects such as ‘Bridget Jones’ Baby’ and ‘Wonder Woman’. According to the Evening Standard, official figures revealed that 2015 proved to be a profitable year – up from 2014’s £567 million and 2013’s £467 million.

London was the setting for numerous upcoming films. Mayor Sadiq Khan said, “London’s screen industries are a global success story. They generate billions for the UK economy and create thousands of jobs, reinforcing London’s pre-eminent status as an international hub for both creativity and business.”

‘Doctor Strange’ is scheduled to premiere on November 4, 2016. It stars Swinton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.